Tedy Bruschi Elected to the Patriots Hall of Fame

Former New England Patriots linebacker and fan favorite Tedy Bruschi has been elected into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame, according to reports.

Fans elected Bruschi into the Hall of Fame and he will be officially inducted along with longtime radio broadcaster Gil Santos on August 11, the team announced today. Bruschi becomes just the third Patriot to be elected in his first year of eligibility sharing the honor with Drew Bledsoe and Troy Brown. Bruschi will also join the College Football Hall of Fame later this year.

Bruschi started his Patriots career when the team drafted the Arizona Wildcat standout in the third round of the 1996 NFL Draft. During his time in Foxboro, Bruschi became a fan favorite for his work ethic and his play . In his 13 seasons with the Patriots, he was a part of 144 regular season wins, was a two time All-Pro, became a Pro Bowler in 2004, and was a cog during the Patriots dynasty in the early-to-mid 2000s.

Always with a nose for the ball, Bruschi is also the only Patriot to return four consecutive interceptions for touchdowns and ranks second in Patriots history with four interceptions returned for touchdowns. Bruschi ranks fourth all-time among NFL linebackers with his four interceptions returned for touchdowns and the only Patriots linebacker to return multiple interceptions for touchdowns in a season.

In 2005, Bruschi suffered a stroke shortly after winning Super Bowl XXXIX and announced that he would sit out the 2005 NFL season. However, the Patriots cleared Bruschi to resume football activities and returned to the team just a shirt eight months later. Bruschi remains an active figure in his foundation, Tedy's Team, designed to support the American Stroke Association.

Bruschi officially retired in 2009 and became an NFL analyst for ESPN and will become a game analyst for WBZ-TV's Patriots pre-season games for the 2013 NFL pre-season.